


Pandora

by winterda



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Angst, F/M, Magical Artifacts, None New York Special Compliant, Not Beta Read
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-19
Updated: 2021-01-18
Packaged: 2021-03-17 09:15:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,800
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28846653
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/winterda/pseuds/winterda
Summary: Something happened to the teenagers of Paris.  No one knew what, just that they were all gone and life had to move on.  Then, one day, a decade later, they were back with no memory of what happened or where they went.  They also had not aged.Merinette's job as Ladybug was to fix such things, but she wasn't sure if she was going to be able to do so this time.  What she could do, however, was find whatever dark thing it was that they brought back with them.
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir & Gabriel Agreste | Papillon | Hawk Moth, Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir & Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Emilie Agreste/Gabriel Agreste | Papillon | Hawk Moth, Gabriel Agreste | Papillon | Hawk Moth/Nathalie Sancoeur
Comments: 4
Kudos: 20





	Pandora

**Author's Note:**

> This is kind of a combination of some ideas I had. Don't want to spoil the fun, so I'm not going to go too much into anything here, but let's say that the idea of multiple Miracle Boxes gave me an idea. We'll see how it goes. And please forgive if anyone is OC. I'm still learning how to write their characters.

“Chat Noir! Look out!”

Ladybug didn't have time to see if he followed her as she dove out of the wave of the sonic shock wave. The scaffolding that had been right behind them clanged and banged together as it fell in on itself, throwing out splintering debris and dirt into the burned-out remains of the sanctuary. It echoed around them, muffling the sounds of their light-footed landings behind a pile of building material. The pair crouched down as the dust floated down around them.

“She's really trying to bring the house down,” Chat said as he brushed some dirt from his cat ears and hair. 

Ladybug fought the childish urge to roll her eyes. After so many years, she was more or less used to his lame puns and knew it was just a silly Chat thing. Just one of the many quirks that made him so him. 

But god did it get irritating sometimes.

“Keep it up, Kitty, and you'll be dealing with this diva alone,” Ladybug said as she peaked over the top of their hiding spot. 

The Banshee Bride was scanning the area for them with her unnaturally dark eyes. Her black and purple dress pulled quietly along the floor, leaving a trail behind her, as she swatted away several tools on makeshift workbench with her bouquet. They crashed to the ground and slid across the floor to mix with the debris of the wreckage she had already caused. 

Apparently, she missed where they had moved too, which gave them some time to figure things out. There hadn't exactly been a whole lot of that since this things started. Some of it was fairly obvious. The akumaized victim was a bride angry about something to do about her wedding. The akuma was hiding someone where in the sickly flowers of her bouquet. And the Bride had a scream that could knock down a brick wall. 

Literally.

Bridezilla wasn't the word to describe this woman.

The fleeting thought that this was probably why Adrian's dad didn't do wedding dresses crossed her mind before she ducked back down next to Chat.

“Mew-ouch,” Chat said. “You fe-line okay, M'lady?”

The flat look she leveled at him probably would have killed a lesser man. As it were, Chat just smiled.

Stupid cat.

“I'm fine,” she said. “Just ready to get this over with.”

“Come out!” Banshee Bride yelled interrupting whatever retort he had. “Stop trying to ruin my wedding and come out and give me your Miraculous NOW!” 

It was a full blast from her scream, but it was enough to cause a few tiny bits of plaster work over them to rain down on them. If they weren't careful all the renovations on the church and what was left of the original building would come crashing onto them. Not that it would be the first time something like that had happened to them, but it wasn't something that Ladybug wanted to repeat. She could fix it once it was all over, but putting people danger – whether it was an innocent victim or just Chat – never sat well with her. She'd much rather stop it before hand.

Which was why she had her lucky charm. Now she just had to figure out what she needed a boomerang for.

“We've got to get her bouquet,” Ladybug said as touched her chin. 

“So what's the plan, M'lady?” Chat asked.

Ladybug frowned and peered back towards the Bride. The magic of the ladybug kicked in, kicking her creative mind into overdrive. A boomerang was a weapon that she could use, but things were rarely that simple. The Miraculous wanted her to figure out a puzzle that it already had an answer to and gave her the tool she needed to do so. It was just a matter of putting it all together.

There had to be something.

Overhead, a palette of materials meant for the working on the rafters swung on a chain. 

A broken pole from the scaffolding was near Ladybug's feet.

Chat Noir knelt next to her ready for instructions.

“Got it,” Ladybug said as she adjusted her grip on the boomerang. “Get ready to Cataclysm that bouquet.”

“Right.”

She didn't wait to see if he did as she asked. Chat would be ready just as he always was.   
She had to time this just right. Even half a second off, and they would miss their chance.

When the Bride was in the right spot, Ladybug leaped up high enough to throw the boomerang at the chain. There was a snapping sound before the palette went straight down towards the Bride, who hadn't had the chance to scream before she had to leap back out of the way of the material. Ladybug was moving by then and grabbed the abandoned metal pipe.

Like a choreographed ballet, they moved in tandem. The Bride saw her as Ladybug brought the pipe down in an over-the-head swing right for where the Bride was landing. If the Bride didn't move, it would be a painful blow. To avoid it, she leaped back up into the air similar to how Ladybug had moved only a few seconds before. Much like the Miraculous, the magic of the akuma allowed her to jump far higher than a normal human being would and she seemed to hang there with her arms stretched out as if suspended by wires. Fury was painted on her face, and Ladybug knew what was coming next if this didn't work out as she planned.

The scream was ready.

So were the well-placed boomerang and kitty.

The bouquet went flying. There was a scream of indignation. Then Cataclysm turned the flowers to ash and a dark butterfly gently headed towards the rafters.

It was a matter of catching said butterfly and then cleaning up after that. Ladybug had done it so often that it was second nature now. There was still something thrilling to it all, watching as swarm of ladybugs fly from here to there repairing damage, fixing wounds, and putting things right. Knowing that she had made a difference and people were safe and things were back to the way they should be, it was the best thing in the world.

The akumaization was wearing off just as Ladybug picked up the bouquet and walked over to the very confused young woman. Her large, ballroom gown pillowed around her and caused her to fumble a bit as she tried to gain her bearings. She reminded Ladybug of princess waking up from a curse in a fairy tale. When Ladybug thought about what had just happened to her, it wasn't too far off.

Chat landed next to her just as the woman was starting to realized that she wasn't at her wedding any longer. He grinned at Ladybug and held up his fist, which she cheerfully returned.

“Pound it,” they said in tandem.

Things happened pretty fast from that point. The Bride's fiance, a nice guy named Alan, was waiting outside for them. He'd followed after her when she started to rampage through the city, doing everything in her power to stop anyone she thought might even try to ruin their big day. Apparently the pressure to have the perfect wedding had gotten to her right before she was set to walk down the aisle, and Hawk Moth was never one to let an opportunity pass him by. It was over now, though, and the bride and groom where ready to go back.

“Another job well done, M'lady,” Chat said as they stood near the entrance of the church.

“You didn't do so bad yourself, Kitty,” Ladybug said. “Though, next time, I think you might want to avoid the chocolate fountain.”

He smirked without a hint of shame from that disaster. “What can I said. It just looked purr-ty tast–.”

“Ladybug! Catch!” 

She reacted before her brain caught up with what had happened. A bouquet of red and yellow roses was in her hand and, for a moment, Ladybug wasn't sure how it had gotten there exactly. She blinked at it and then down at the bride who was waving with her free hand at them.

“Thanks again,” the bride yelled before climbing into the car.

Ladybug could feel Chat's eyes on her as stared at the bouquet. The one that the new bride just threw to her.

“Well, it looks like you just caught the bouquet, Bugaboo,” he said with a smirk. “You know what that means, right?”

Great. Just great. Now she was never going to hear the end of this.

Chat was like that, though, and she had long ago grown accustomed to his flirting and teasing when it came to such things. Sometimes it was annoying, especially after a long day – like today – and a longer fight – like tonight's – but she didn't try to stop him like she had when they were first starting out. Not after, well, everything.

It didn't mean that she was in the mood for it right at that moment, though.

Thankfully, a well-timed alarm put a stop to it before she had to.

“I know what that means,” she said as his ring began to beep. “Looks like you're done for the night, Kitty.”

“You too,” he said just as her earrings went off. Ever the exaggerator, he bowed to her and said, “And with that, I think I'll take my leave. Always a pleasure, M'lady.”

She rolled her eyes and said, “Goodnight, Chaton.”

He gave her a quick salute and then vaulted into the cloudy night. 

Ladybug stood there at the top of the stairs. The danger was over now and she should be heading home herself before her parents started to call Alya and ask where she was. She hated having to use her friend as an excuse like that, but she hadn't been sure how else she could get her parents to let her out of the house once the akuma alert went off. They'd just finished dinner and where washing the dishes when her phone alarm had gone off. Normally, Marinette would have used an excuse to go upstairs and sneak out that way, but she had just told her parents not ten minutes before that she had finished up the dress she been working on all week and was ready to kick her dad's butt at UMS IV. “Forgetting” she promised Alya a movie night was the first thing she could think of, and she was out the door before either of them could point out that Alya would be heading out of find the fight between Ladybug and the akuma. Now she just had to make it home before it got too late and her parents began to worry.

She took a step to leave when something in the summer night that sent a chill up her spine. There was a charge in the air like a lightning bolt ready to crash. Was it another akuma attack? Or maybe a sentimonster? There hadn't been any sign of Mayura's work during the fight with the Banshee Bride. Maybe she'd been waiting for – 

For what? If they were going to attack, they would have done so by now. Hawk Moth didn't usually send out more akumas so close to one another anyway, and Mayura, well, it was hard to tell what she was going to do but it was rarely anything without Hawk Moth. So Ladybug didn't think it was them.

Something was there, though. Something that set Ladybug on edge. 

Her earrings beeped again. It was too late to worry about this now. Whatever it was, she was sure she would find out about soon enough. Launching herself up toward the tops of the closet building, Ladybug threw out her yo-yo and swung out into the Paris evening. 

*

“I need cheese.”

Plagg was right in front of his face before Adrien had even had a chance lift his head from his just completed summer homework. He was pretty use to Plagg doing stuff like this. For the most part, he was pretty content with letting Adrien do his own thing when they were home after a fight. It was a good thing too since he was generally still busy even when he was home either with practice for his private lessons like piano or Chinese, or having to finish his homework for school. His father didn't practice idleness and didn't tolerate it in his son either so there was always something for Adrien to do. He was just glad that it was something he actually enjoyed doing tonight.

Nino could say what he wanted, but physics was fun.

“What are you talking about?” Adrien asked as he leaned back in desk chair. “I just bought you a three wheels of Camembert yesterday.”

It wasn't a secret that Plagg could eat his weight and beyond in cheese, but that much cheese usually lasted for at least a week. As long as there wasn't a major Paris-ending crisis anyway. The Banshee Bride had been annoying, but nothing that he and Ladybug couldn't handle. There was no way that Plagg had to have gone through that much cheese just for her.

Unless he just gored himself, which was also possible. Usually that ended with him swearing off the stuff for awhile, not asking for more.

“Not that kind,” Plagg said rolling his eyes. 

He zoomed over to Adrien's computer and began to dance the keyboard. Adrien's mother disappeared from the monitors and was replaced with a block of some cheese Adrien didn't recognize.

Plagg floated closer to the screen with a dreamy smile on his face. “This kind.”

“Wyke Farms Cheddar?” 

“Yeah.”

Adrien's jaw dropped after the first two sentences. “Plagg, it's two hundred dollars a pound.”

“So? It's not you don't have the money.”

Adrien fought the urge to roll his own eyes. Chat might be able to get away with that sort of thing, but Adrien knew his father would never tolerate such behavior. Even Nathalie would put her foot down about that one, and she was the more lenient of the two when it came to Adrien acting like a normal teenager. It was best to just keep things like reserved for Chat. Beside, the more he didn't act like his “normal self” the better off he would be in keeping his identity a secret. 

Plagg did make it hard some days. 

“I don't think I can explain away a thousand dollar expense on cheese to Nathalie,” Adrien said as he reached over and clicked off the computer. 

“What? No, my cheese!”

Standing, Adrien stretched his arms over his head as Plagg lamented his cheese. He was too young to have anything really pop, but he half expected to have it happen anyway. Even with the suit, being a superhero could be pretty hard on the body, and Banshee's scream had thrown him pretty hard through that brick wall. His side still hurt a bit from that one. 

His bed was call his name now that all his work was done for the day, and who was he to deny it? And, hey, no early morning interviews or photoshoots, so he might actually get to sleep until five thirty in the morning when his early morning judo lesson started. After a week of four am wakeup calls, he was looking forward to the little extra sleep.

Plagg was still pouting when Adrien had finished brushing his teeth and pulling on his pajamas. Adrien had long since learned how to ignore him and fell face first into his pillows. A light tap of weight brushed against Adrien's head.

“I'm not buying you that cheese,” he said into the pillow.

“It's fine. I've come to terms that my owner would rather see me starve than let his poor, helpless kwami have an experience of a lifetime in the form of cheddar. It wold be transcendent, but I know that you will not yield.”

Cool air hit Adrien's face as he turned towards Plagg.

“You had twenty minutes and that's the best you could come up with?”

“What? I'll have you know that I was being completely sincere.”

Sure. And Banshee just wanted to talk.

He should have known. They had been together for awhile now, and once his kwami had his mind set on something he wasn't likely to give it up that easily. It was true that Adrien could order that cheese, but Nathalie was already concerned by “his” addition. She was too professional to say anything outright about it, but she did watch his weight closely. His father would have a fit his model son lost the ideal physique and became less than perfect. 

That cheese would just cause problems that Adrien didn't feel like having at the moment. Plagg would survive without it. 

Adrien just hoped that he didn't wake up to him whispering into his ear.

“Good night, Plagg,” Adrien said as he rolled onto his side.

It was never completely dark at night in Paris. Like other cities around the world, the light pollution caused by so many buildings and street lights wouldn't allow it. Thanks to its high walls, the Agreste mansion was better than a lot of places around the city, but even they couldn't block out all the light. There was something comforting about that: to know that there was always light even in the darkest of nights. 

It was also why Adrien could still see the photos next to his bed so clearly. One was of him and his parents. He'd found it in his mom's study a few months ago. His father never went in there and rarely came to Adrien's room unless he needed something, so he figured his father wouldn't notice if it moved from his mother's desk to Adrien's nightstand. 

The picture itself was one of the few that had all three of them in it. Adrien didn't think that he was maybe three in the photograph, which was probably why he didn't remember it being taken. His cheeks and face were round with baby fat, and his tiny hands that were griping his father's neck looked like small sausage links. Like his father in the picture, his eyes were only for his mother. It had shocked Adrien a bit when he realized how much he and his father looked alike in that moment as they both gazed at the women that loved more than anything. His mother, however, grinned at the camera with her Mona Lisa smile at him from the frame. It wasn't her genuine smile, more the one that she used whenever they were getting their picture taken in public. There really were too few picture with her real smile, which was why Adrien wanted to keep them safely stored on his computer so nothing could happen to them. 

The photograph next to it was one that Alya had snapped of all of them together a few weeks ago. He, Nino, Alya, and Marinette were all packed together on a picnicked blanket under a tree in the park near Marinette's parents' bakery. The only one that was missing was Kagami. Her mother had decided that it would be beneficial for them to spend part of the summer in Japan with Kagami's grandparents so that she could get some specialized training from a sword master her grandfather knew. Adrien had missed her dearly, but they talked nearly ever single day. He'd be glad when she finally got back, and they could once again spend some time together.

The day that the photograph had been taken had been a one, and they had spent most of it trying to stay cool with ice cream and water fights. They had all dropped down onto the blanket when Alya had pulled out her phone and told them all to squeeze in. Alya was basically in Nino's lap, while Adrien and Marinette were pressed close together. Mariette's cheeks were even a little sun burnt, but she smiled as if it didn't bother her. They were all soaked but laughing and having a good time. When Alya had sent them all the picture, he knew he was going to go onto the nightstand so he'd be able to remember what a great day with his friends. He didn't get as many of those as he would like, so it was a nice reminder of what he could have before he went to sleep.

Adrien smiled to himself as his eyes drifted closed. He imaged what it would be like to have another day like that, but in the privacy of his mind, he included another important person who couldn't otherwise come. He pictured what it be like for his Lady to be there with them, enjoying the afternoon under the Parisian sun with him and his best friends. She already knew all of them he knew. She'd given them all miraculouses at one point or another, so he was sure that they would all have a great time. He could just picture. The six of them hanging out on Marinette's balcony, talking and laughing and just being the teenagers they actually were. No akumas, no photoshoots, and no expectations. Just kids being kids. 

It was something nice to think about as he drifted off too – 

“You want to buy some Wyke's Farm Cheddar,” a voice whispered.

“Plagg!” 

*

“So, what do you think, Tikki?” 

Marinette leaned back in his desk chair to give her kwami a better view of the sketch. Her mind had been racing since seeing Banshee's dress morph back into the bride's. There was something about that split second change from the old, torn, desolated purplish-gray Victorian to the sparkly, poofy, modern ballgown that got her creative juices going. She was working on coming up with some amalgamation of the best parts of the two, and had finally settled on a structure that she was somewhat happy with.

Coming up with designed based off akumas wasn't the best idea. There were too many bad memories for most people to be comfortable with anything based off it. Besides that, Hawk Moth wasn't exactly the king of good fashion, just look at the Bubbler and Party Crasher. But that was the thing about inspiration. Sometimes it came from the strangest places. And it wasn't like was planning on actually making this. It was just something a challenge she wanted to try to see if she could make something positive out of such a terrible thing. 

Tikki didn't approve, though. She could hear it in her frown when Tikki realized what this dress was supposed to be based off of. 

It was even more dominate now.

“I think it's time you head to bed,” Tikki said as she came to float in front of Marinette. “It's really late, and you promised you'd help your parents in the bakery in the morning.”

“It's not that late,” Marinette said. 

It couldn't be. She had gotten home just as her parents were getting ready for bed, which meat that Marinette a few more hours to go before her normal summer bedtime. She had then made sure that all the kwamis were okay and didn't need anything before sitting down with her sketchpad for last bit before bed. It was the first time today she had had a chance to do so since she had been helping her parents during the mornings and then studying everything she had found at Master Fu's for her Guardian training. That was coming along slowly and was more than a bit frustrating, but it was her duty as the Guardian of the Miracle Box to learn all she could. She was learning a lot, but she still felt like there was more that she needed to know. Maybe she should use Kaalki to go visit the Monks one day. She was sure that they would be able to help.

If they didn't just try to take the Miracle Box from her. 

Marinette pushed the thought away. Master Fu had trusted her and left the box in her care. She wasn't going to let him down.

Still, she needed some times to work on her designs too. If she wanted to get into one of the top fashion programs in Paris, she needed to keep building her portfolio. So once she had everything settled for the night, she had started working on the newest design. Marinette was sure she hadn't spent that long on it. Maybe an hour or hour and a half. She had been known to lose herself a bit in her designs from time to time, but she doubted it went beyond that.

“It's after one, Marinette,” Tikki said and jumped onto Marinette's phone to make it light up with the time. And there the time was. 1:27 a.m.

Crapcrapcrap.

“Tikki, why didn't you tell me?” Marinette said as she slammed her sketchpad closed. 

“I've been trying to,” Tikki said as Marinette quickly changed from her regular clothes into her sleepwear. “But you were so caught up in your design you didn't hear me.”

Marinette flicked off the main lamp over her desk. Marinette blinked at the darkness to try and get her eyes to adjust before attempting to climb the stairs to her bed. Falling face first either up the stairs or back down the stairs really wasn't something wanted to experience. Again. Once satisfied she could somewhat see, she hurried her way up. 

“I need to be up in five hours to help Mom and Dad with the breakfast crowd,” she groaned as she fell onto her bed. Her face was buried into the side of her cat pillow when she added, “And I'm not even tired.”

“Just try and get some rest, Marinette,” Tikki said from the small nest she had made near the headboard. “You've had a long day. I'm sure you'll be asleep in no time.”

Marinette wasn't so sure but rolled over onto her back to at least try. It wasn't coming easy, though. She laid there and stared up at the trap door over her bed for what felt like hours while her brain thought about nothing and everything at the same time. 

She couldn't believe the amount of time she had spent on trying to design an akuma inspired dress that she didn't even have any intention of making. She had just gotten lost in the idea, or at least in trying to see if it was possible. It was just the thought of making something beautiful out of something so awful had been too appealing. Like it was another way to fix things outside of her powers. She should have known better. Nothing good could ever come from Hawk Moth.

A flash of someone's headlights raced across her bedroom ceiling and lit up her cork board for a split second. It was pretty empty now. Most of the pictures of Adrien were gone. It hadn't seemed right after he had started dating Kagami, and especially not now that Marinette was trying to move on with Luka. So Marinette had called Alya over, and she had helped her de-Adrienize her room back at the beginning of summer. It had been hard, but Marinette knew it was for the best. Kagami made Adrien happy, and Marinette knew she and Luka were good together. She and Adrien could just be friends. It's what would make everyone the happiest.

It would was just taking awhile, but that wasn't unexpected. Marinette knew her feelings for Adrien weren't something she was going to get over overnight. But it was better now. She even managed to spend that day with them a few weeks ago in the park. The four of them had had fun playing with water balloons and squirt guns and just being normal kids. Adrien had even laughed when Marinette nailed him in the side of the head with balloon. It'd been nice. 

Marinette smiled as she looked at the picture pinned on the board. It was one of the few that she let herself put up of him, and justified doing so because Nino and Alya were also in it. They all looked so happy and carefree. Marinette wished they had more days like that. 

A yawn caught her out of no where, and Marinette realized that her eyes were beginning to droop. She didn't fight it and relaxed into her pillows as she thought more about that day. The sunshine in the trees. Nino's latest mix playing on his phone. Alya's laugh as she told them about her sister's – Marinette couldn't remember which one – latest crush. Adrien's smile. It was enough to relax her enough to drift off into sleep where the promise of pleasant dreams waited.

*

_Something was wrong. She didn't know what, but she knew that something was. It was just too strong of a feeling._

_She was standing somewhere. Somewhere she knew but didn't. She wasn't alone, but she wasn't aware of who was with her._

_A small voice was calling for her, but she couldn't hear them._

_A much louder voice was calling for someone else._

_She turned her head to see who it was. He was standing next to her. He looked as dazed as she felt._

_The voice was yelling louder. Whoever it was was close._

_They needed to run._

_Their feet barely touched the top of the wooden poles as they hopped from one to another. It was like running across the roofs of Paris. A game of hopscotch but high over a fast flowing river. Others were following her. He was following because she was the leader. No missed steps._

_Until the dark bird cut in front of her._

_She stumbled backwards and nearly lost her footing when an arm wrapped around her waist and pulled her to more sure footing. He smiled at her as they twirled around one another in a fast pace to a musical beat she couldn't quiet hear – remember – hear. They grabbed onto each others hands and laughed as they went faster and faster._

_It was fun._

_It was wrong._

_He held on as tight as he could._

_She let go when the same bird flew between them._

_She stumbled to her knees._

_Something was wrong. Wrong, wrong, wrong._

_As wrong as the light that was growing around her. Around them._

_He held up his arm to shield his eyes. She did the same._

_She blinked at the box._

_Something was wrong._

_Everything was wrong._

_“You're not the one.”_

_She squinted at the voice._

_A raven flew at her in response._

_And then the light exploded._

*

Marinette's head hurt. It was the first things that she became consciously aware of. Her temples pounded in rhythm with her heartbeat as the back of her head throbbed. Whatever had hit her had hit her a lot harder than anything else had in recent memory. 

Whatever her recent memory was.

“Tikki?” she asked as she reached up and ran her hand over her still closed eyes. 

What happened? Was she sick? Did she catch something fighting the Bride last night? 

Could she even get sick as Ladybug? 

And why was her bed so hard? 

And cold?

And...wet?

“Tikki?” she asked again and pulled her hand away from her face.

The first thought Marinette had was to wonder why the trapdoor over her bed was opened. The sky was that light blue mixed with some receding dark purple from the night sky. She knew that color. It was what the sky turned just before the sun came up fully. It was early still. Earlier than Marinette usually woke up when she didn't have to go to school. 

The second thought she had was to realize that there were no trees over her balcony, but there were definitely some over now.

What?

Marinette blinked as she sat up and took in her surroundings. She was in the park near the empty fountain, under the patch of trees that she and Nino and Alya and Adrien had had their picnicked. And there were kids – teenagers – everywhere. Some where waking up like her, but many were still asleep on the ground. Those that were awake were holding their heads and looking around them with the same kind of confusion that Marinette felt.

What was going on?

Quickly glancing around, Marinette realized that she knew most of the people around her. Kim was on his side next to the fountain, while Max laid flat on his stomach close by and Rose next to him. Marinette could see the top of Alix's head near where Marc and Nathaniel were stretched out, while Sabrina and Chloe were already slowly getting their feet.

“What is going on?” Chloe demanded as she brushed some dirt from her...old fashion leggings? “Ugh, and what am I wearing? Just wait until my father hears about this!”

Now that Marinette was looking, she noticed that all the kids had on similar outfits. It was like they had just stepped out some medieval training camp for one of those open-world video games, minus the weapons. Marinette herself had on a tunic and a pair of thick boots, none of which she had ever owned. And it smelled like smoke for some reason.

What?

“Marinette?”

Twisting around, Marinette sighed in relief when she saw her two friends.

“Nino! Alya! Are you alright?”

“I think so,” Alya said as she pushed some of her hair out of her face. “I just have a killer headache.”

Holding one side of his head, Nino asked, “Dude, what happened?”

“I don't know,” Marinette said. “I –.”

“Guys?”

The sharp yelp was out of her mouth before Marinette could stop it. “Adrien!” 

Even though he was almost right next to her, the way he had been laying had put him in her blind spot. She should have known someone was there. There were too many kids for someone not to have been that close. But did have to be Adrien?

“You okay, Dude?” Nino asked as he pushed himself to his feet before helping Alya to hers.

Marinette and Adrien followed their lead. 

“Yeah, I'm fine,” he said. “Head hurts a bit.”

“Yeah, join the club,” Nino said. “I haven't felt this bad since that time Chris accidentally nailed me with his toy engine.”

Marinette pressed her lips. She remember that. It was right after Chris's fourth birthday, and he had gotten a toy train. She never did find out what he was throwing a tantrum about, but she did known Nino had gotten in the way of the flying toy. He'd sported a black eye for a week. Marinette knew Chris wasn't necessarily a bad kid, but he did have a temper. She hoped he grew out of his bratty phase soon.

But they had bigger matter to worry about at the moment other than Nino's bratty little brother.

“Guys, we need to call our parents,” Alya said. “They're probably freaking out right about now.”

That be one thing. A pretty big thing, really. 

Marinette turned towards her parents' bakery. It was early morning, but there were few people who got an earlier start than a baker. She could just see the light it the shop was on from where she stood. That was weird. If her parents were up, shouldn't they have been out looking for her by now? Or maybe they were, and they just missed the park full of confused teenagers? Was that even possible?

“My phone is gone!” Alya shouted as she patted herself down. 

It made since for it be gone. Alya might act like her phone was attached to her hand, but even she didn't sleep with it. Usually, anyway. Still, something about it caused a pit of dread to pool in Marinette's stomach.

Mainly the lack of movement hiding in her clothes.

Marinette's hands were tugging at her earlobes before she realized it, and the dread turned into an ice-cold chill. 

“So are my earrings,” she said.

“And my ring,” Adrien added. He looked as pale as Marinette felt. 

She drew in a breath and held it for second to hold off the panic. Her earrings could easily still be in her room. Maybe she took them off before she left. Or maybe Tikki had taken them before whatever happened happened. She knew her kwami would do everything she could to protect her Miraculous. Marinette would expect nothing less. She just had to hope that they were up there because if not, she wasn't sure what she was going to do.

“My parents' bakery is opened,” Marinette said. “Maybe they can tell us what's going on.”

“Or at least give us a way to call our parents,” Nino added. “I can't imagine how bad my mom must be freaking out right now.”

“I'm scared to even think of it,” Adrien said.

Marinette bit down on the inside of her lip. Yeah, Gabriel Agreste not knowing where Adrien was never lead to anything good.

“Come on,” Marinette said before jogging off across the park. 

They weaved through the crowd of now fully awake kids. She caught several similar questions here and there; the same ones that they had been asking as well. She didn't have time to stop and help, though. She needed to get into her room and find her Miraculous, or the whole city might be in trouble.

A very small crowd had began to form just outside of the park by the time Marinette and the others exited it. Several of the adults were on their phones, and she thought she heard the word police somewhere. Normally, Marinette didn't like mixing the police into obvious magical business, but maybe this time it wasn't a bad idea. They could at least help the kids get in contact with their parents. They could figure out the rest later.

The bell over the door rang loudly as Marinette pushed her way inside the tiny bakery, with the others following close behind.

“Mom! Dad!” she yelled as she headed towards the opened door behind the counter. She ran through the small entry way and into the main kitchen. Her parents looked up when she burst inside, and some worry that she wasn't even aware of settled in Marinette's stomach. They were alright. Whatever had happened to her and the others didn't get her parents too. That was relief.

“Mom, Dad,” she said, “something happened. I don't know what, though. We just all woke up over in the park and there are kids everywhere and no one remembers how we got there and –.”

“Marinette,” Alya said as she placed a hand on her shoulder. “Girl, stop talk and look at your parents.”

Marinette frowned but did as she was told. Her parents hadn't move and were just staring at her. Both of their mouths were slack, and Marinette wasn't so sure that their eyes were about to pop out of their heads. If they didn't pass out first.

What?

“Mom?” 

The question had barely left her lips when the metal tray of bread loaves her mother had been holding clattered to the ground. The loaves when scattering in every directions, but she didn't have the chance to think about it before she found herself wrapped tightly in her parents arms. Her crying parents arms. 

“Oh, my baby,” her mother sobbed in her ear. “Oh, god, my baby is here!”

Marinette held onto her parents and tried not cry herself. She had never seen either of them ever this upset, and she didn't even know why.

“It's okay, Mom,” she said awkwardly. “I'm fine. I'm right here.”

What was going on? Why were her parents acting like this?

What happened?

“Oh, my baby,” her mom said again before finally pulling away long enough to look her. She took Marinette's face in both her hands and swiped her thumbs across her cheeks. “I can't believe your here! After all this time, you're here!”

“Mom, what are you talking about?”

“Uh, Marinette.”

Adrien stood in the doorway just behind Nino with a picture frame in his hands. Where he had gotten it, she wasn't sure but whatever it was had caused his face to turn even paler than when he realized his ring was gone. That cold pit washed over again as he bit his lip and turned the picture around. 

It was a picture of her that her mother, from the same photograph of the four of them that she had tacked to her board. Only this one had cropped out the others, though you could still see a bit of Adrien's arm and Alya's hair, and was focused squarely on her. 

Then she read the words on the frame. 

_IN LOVING MEMORY OF OUR DAUGHTER._

**Author's Note:**

> Let me know what you guys think and thanks for reading.


End file.
